Student Nation: 'Unmanned' Offers a Chance to Debate Drones

On October 30 director Robert Greenwald released his eighth full-length feature documentaryUnmanned: America’s Drone Wars. Through never-before-seen footage and more than seventy separate interviews, including one with a former American drone operator sharing what he has witnessed, Pakistani families mourning loved ones and seeking legal redress, investigative journalists pursuing the truth, and top military officials warning against blowback from the loss of innocent life—Unmanned investigates the impact of the US drone wars at home and abroad.

The film highlights the stories of 16-year-old Tariq Aziz, killed by a drone a mere week after he participated in a public conference in Islamabad in 2011; and a school teacher, Rafiq ur Rahman, grappling with the loss of his elderly mother and the hospitalization of his children due to a drone strike last year, showing how delicate life can be in this virtual war where no one is accepting responsibility for the casualties.

Unmanned offers a clear-cut case that drones are not making us safer, and the filmmakers, hoping to help spark a dialogue, are offering free copies of the documentary to any students who want to stage screenings on campus on the many issues surrounding the increasing use of drones by the United States at home and abroad.

Help end the US drone wars and sign up to host your own screening at your college this semester.